GRAND Social ? Grandparent linky ? July 30 - Grandma's Briefs ...

Really? Is it really already the end of July? As I filled in all the blanks of the form to create this week's GRAND Social linky, I couldn't believe the end date I input for this week's three-day link party is August 1. August first!

Truly, I have no idea where July went, no idea how it flew by so quickly. It's gone, gone, gone.

As time is clearly whizzing on by, I'll waste no more of it marveling at its speed. Here, my friends, is this week's GRAND Social! Happy linking! Happy reading! Happy Monday!

Oh, and happy end of July?whether we were ready for it or not!

How it works:

• All grandparent bloggers are invited to add a link. You don't have to blog specifically about grandparenting, but you must be a grandparent who blogs.

• Posts shared can be an old one or a recent one, your choice. I like to link up to older posts that current readers likely haven't seen.

• To link up, copy the direct link to the specific post you want to share, not the link to your blog's home page. Then click the blue "Click here to enter" text below and follow the directions to add your post to the list.

• You can add up to three posts, but no duplicates, please, and none you have promoted on a previous GRAND Social linky.

• No contests, giveaways, or Etsy sites.

• Adding a mention at the bottom of your linked posts, such as This post has been linked to the GRAND Social linky, is appreciated. Or, you can post the GRAND Social button using the following code:

<a href="http://grandmasbriefs.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://grandmasbriefs.squarespace.com/storage/GRANDsocialbutton.jpg " alt="Grandma?sBriefs.com" width="125" height="125" /></a>

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• The GRAND Social linky is open for new posts through Wednesday evening, so please come back to see those added after your first visit.

• If you're not a blogger, you have the pleasure of being a reader. All bloggers who link up would be honored to have you click, visit, read and comment.
  

READERS and PARTICIPATING BLOGGERS: Please visit the posts others have linked to by clicking on the thumbnail photos. Comments are always appreciated by the bloggers whose links you visit, even if it's simply "Hey, stopping by from GRAND Social."

Thank you for participating in the GRAND Social grandparent linky!

Source: http://www.grandmasbriefs.com/home/2012/7/30/grand-social-grandparent-linky-july-30.html

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Student in Kent State Twitter threat due in court

KENT, Ohio (AP) ? A Kent State University student accused of posting a message on Twitter saying he planned to "shoot up" the northeastern Ohio campus is due in court.

Nineteen-year-old William Koberna was arrested at his parents' home in the Cleveland suburb of Brunswick on Sunday afternoon. The sophomore has been charged with inducing panic, a felony, and aggravated menacing. He was to be arraigned Monday.

A university spokesman says the tweet was posted July 25.

University officials monitoring Twitter last week noticed the profanity-laced message and contacted police. They said it included the threat: "I'm shooting up your school ASAP."

Kent State University President Lester Lefton said in a statement that "our students, employees, and all those who come to campus should know that their safety is our top priority."

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/student-kent-state-twitter-threat-due-court-153119871.html

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Just what Africa needs; a US-funded, partly privatised military force

The LA Times reveals yet another Washington-led proxy war, this time in Africa. Privatised and essentially unaccountable, this is another example of the US never learning from history. Arming and training such a force will almost inevitably blow back on the West at some point:

The soldiers stood at attention, rifles at their sides, as U.S. Army Maj. Gen. David Hogg walked down the ranks, eyeing the men heading off to fight in Somalia.

?You will push ? the miscreants from that country, so Somalia can once again be free of tyranny and terrorism,? he told them, according to a video of the May ceremony. ?We know you are ready.?

These weren?t American soldiers. They were from impoverished Sierra Leone in West Africa. But Hogg, a top U.S. Army commander for Africa, was in Freetown, Sierra Leone?s capital, because this was largely an American operation.

Nearly 20 years after U.S. Army Rangers suffered a bloody defeat in Somalia, losing 18 soldiers and two Black Hawk helicopters, Washington is once again heavily engaged in the chaotic country. Only this time, African troops are doing the fighting and dying.

The United States is doing almost everything else.

The U.S. has been quietly equipping and training thousands of African soldiers to wage a widening proxy war against the Shabab, the Al Qaeda ally that has imposed a harsh form of Islamic rule on southern Somalia and sparked alarm in Washington as foreign militants join its ranks.

Officially, the troops are under the auspices of the African Union. But in truth, according to interviews by U.S. and African officials and senior military officers and budget documents, the 15,000-strong force pulled from five African countries is largely a creation of the State Department and Pentagon, trained and supplied by the U.S. government and guided by dozens of retired foreign military personnel hired through private contractors.

Like CIA drone strikes in Pakistan and Somalia, and the overthrow of Moammar Kadafi?s regime in Libya, the U.S. backing of African troops in Somalia is an example of how, after a decade of ground combat in Iraq and Afghanistan, the Obama administration is trying to achieve U.S. military goals with minimal risk of American deaths and scant public debate.

The U.S. can underwrite the war in Somalia for a relative pittance ? the cost over four years has been less than $700 million, a tenth of what the military spends in Afghanistan in a month ? but the price tag is growing. More than a third of the U.S. assistance has been spent since early 2011.

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No U.S. military personnel are deployed to Somalia with the African troops. Instead, the State Department pays a private firm to hire the retired foreign military personnel who advise the troops on tactics and operations.

?The U.S. is willing to be very open-minded about whatever the key components are that need to be funded, without which this mission would fail,? said Michael C. Stock, president of Bancroft Global Development, the Washington-based company that hires the combat advisors. ?When it comes to things like ammunition, when it comes to the mentoring and advising that we do, the U.S. is really playing the most important role.?

Bancroft now has about 75 advisors in Somalia, double the number from a year ago, Stock said.

The only major part of the Somalia operation that the U.S. doesn?t supply or pay for are the troops? salaries and logistical expenses, officials say. Those are handled by the European Union and the United Nations, although the U.N. contribution is partially funded by U.S. dues. Only Washington is willing to provide lethal aid, officials and contractors say.

?It?s incredible bang for the dollar that we?ve gotten,? said Michael Bittrick, a State Department official who oversees the effort. ?It isn?t just about getting infantry shooters to go do their work. We?re training their intel people, we?re training their indirect fire people, we?re training their medical people, we?re training their engineers.?

That training is done mostly by U.S. contractors and small teams of American military personnel before the troops deploy from their home countries. But the military also brings African soldiers to the U.S. for training.

In December, the Pentagon brought eight Ugandan soldiers and one of Bancroft?s advisors to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Ala., to train them to use the Army?s Raven drone. The hand-launched, propeller-powered drone beams live video back to a laptop computer when used on the battlefield, as it was last month in Afgooye.

Source: http://antonyloewenstein.com/2012/07/30/just-what-africa-needs-a-us-funded-partly-privatised-military-force/

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Romney Would Back Israeli Strikes on Iran (WSJ)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories Stories, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/238482802?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Report: Let private student loans be discharged in bankruptcy ...

Borrowers overwhelmed by private student loan debt often discover an ugly truth too late ? these loans can?t be discharged in bankruptcy like other types of consumer loans.

A new report on private student loans by the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau and the U.S. Department of Education suggests it may be time to change that. The agencies say these loans offer so little flexibility to struggling borrowers that Congress might consider revising the bankruptcy law given today?s tough economy.

Bankruptcy, of course, should never be entered into lightly because the repercussions are long-lasting. Those who file for bankruptcy end up paying higher interest rates for credit cards or for a mortgage, if they can get one. A bankruptcy can also knock you out of the running for a job. And the black mark stays on credit reports for as long as 10 years.

But when twentysomethings have $100,000 or more in private loans and little prospect of finding work, they need the kind of relief that will give them a fresh start. And that?s bankruptcy.

?The issue has gained a lot of attention and support as people become more aware of how different and more dangerous private loans are compared to federal loans, and how little recourse private loan borrowers have if they hit hard times,? said Lauren Asher, president of the California-based Project on Student Debt.

Asher adds that private loans are similar to credit cards ? but plastic can be discharged in bankruptcy.

?They don?t call credit cards financial aid when they?re used to pay tuition or books,? she said. ?Neither are private loans. ? They are a private and commercial product designed to make money. They are like credit cards and charge the highest rates [to those] who can least afford them.?

Before the mid-1970s, federal and private education loans could be wiped out in bankruptcy. Congress then started to restrict federal loans from being discharged. In the mid-1980s, private loans guaranteed by a nonprofit agency became exempt from bankruptcy. Many lenders took this route to make their loans bankruptcy-proof.

A 2005 bankruptcy law further shielded financial institutions ? giving their loans the same treatment as federal loans. Now, no education loan can be discharged without an ?undue hardship,? a hurdle rarely overcome.

It?s so rare, in fact, that a bankruptcy judge in Baltimore made national headlines recently when he discharged about $340,000 in student loans, says Robert Grossbart, a Baltimore bankruptcy attorney. The borrower suffered from a disorder that prevented her from working.

The CFPB and the Education Department noted that the congressional record has little to say about why private loans in 2005 needed special treatment over other consumer loans. The two agencies said they found little evidence that the change has resulted in lower loan prices to consumers or greater access to credit.

Lenders aren?t happy about the prospect of bankruptcy changes.

?We made a contract with students to repay their loans, and that?s how the banking system operates,? said Richard Hunt, president of the Washington-based Consumer Bankers Association. Hunt predicts a rush of bankruptcy filings if private student loans are allowed to be discharged in bankruptcy.

And if banks continue to make loans after the law is changed, Hunt said, ?there is no question you will get an increase in interest rates.?

Student loan giant Sallie Mae has been open to compromise, supporting a bankruptcy option for loans after borrowers made good-faith payments for five to seven years.

Otherwise, new grads with high debt and few assets could immediately file for bankruptcy, Sallie Mae?s president, Jack Remondi, warned during a congressional hearing last week That was why student loans became exempt in the first place, he said.

Sallie Mae contends that if private loans become dischargeable in bankruptcy, so should federal loans.

But federal loans aren?t the big problem.

When borrowers get into trouble with federal loans, they can get a deferral, forbearance or choice of flexible repayment methods. For instance, borrowers with high debt and low incomes can qualify for an income-based repayment plan that reduces monthly payments ? to zero in some cases. The government also offers loan forgiveness for public service workers.

Source: http://bankruptcylawyersacramento.net/report-let-private-student-loans-be-discharged-in-bankruptcy-baltimore-sun/

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Surgi&#39;s Heating and Air New Orleans Residential Services

WATER LEAKS !!!

As the heat index climbs and air conditioning units work overtime, water leaks in poorly maintained units can occur causing extensive ceiling and floor damage.

Water leaks?are caused by several conditions:??

• Dirty evaporator coils
• Dirty filters
• Dirty blowers
• Poorly charged air conditioners or heat pumps
• Clogged drain lines
• Evaporator coils freezing up
• Poor installation

Before the worst case happens, be safe:

• Poor a mild chlorine and water solution in your air conditioning drain line every few months.
• Check with your home improvement store for chlorine pan tablets.
• Invest in a semi-annual maintenance agreement.
• Install an overflow switch on the drain line of?closet systems to?turn the air conditioner off when the drain line?stops up.?
• Install a float switch in the emergency?overflow drain pan?in attic systems.

?

Call Surgi's today at 469-4232 and ask about our Peak Performance Maintenance Agreement.? We're here to help.

Source: http://surgisresidentialservices.blogspot.com/2012/07/water-leaks-as-heat-index-climbs-and.html

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6 New Rules For Online Business Branding | Business ... - blog*spot

Nowadays, it is no longer enough for businesses to have a cool, sleek website, a few social media profiles, and consistent branding. The fresh rules for online business branding are now focused on engagement and interaction, and less on presentation. Defining your brand is more like a journey of business discovery.

Yes, it can be time-consuming, hard, and uncomfortable. Whether you are managing a printer dealership business or a home maintenance firm, step up the branding game with the help of our insider tips and tricks. Here are a few of the newest rules in branding your business on the Internet today.

1. Don?t just begin the conversation

Your brand needs to be an evolving and integral part of the conversations happening online. Social media has a very important prospective to work with brand management?and that is the conversation. Just like brand management, social networking is about conversations and developing effective relationships.

The principles for brand messaging across new media and classic channels haven?t really changed, but they are held to a higher standard. Today, it isn?t enough to simply have a Twitter or Facebook page; you need to engage with your fans and followers by sharing posts and answering messages sent by customers.

Maintaining and tracking social media is a must for small and big businesses. Social media tends to have shortened time frame for responses to accusations or complaints. Companies need to identify and acknowledge issues and control messaging in a matter of minutes, instead of hours and days.

2. Keep your personal brand away

So now that you have more than ten thousand followers on Twitter, does it mean anything to your clients? Growing a personal brand is a big distraction for most founders. Steve Job has his own personal brand, however, it is still Apple?s design that makes it a valuable firm. He didn?t jump on FourSquare to develop his brand.

3. Dive in and hit the headlines

Establishing your expertise in the industry is very beneficial in brand management. To attract the press, determine media forms that are applicable to your expertise and send targeted pitches. For instance, if you have an interview for television or radio, make sure you offer a personality preview by sending them links to videos on your website.

As soon as you have developed an expertise, take it on the road. Attending conferences and being an active member of professional organizations provides priceless networking opportunities. Participating in a vendor event can also provide long-term branding benefits.

4. Find and target your brand niche

Even if you are venturing into an already crowded marketplace, you will have the opportunity to make your brand stand out. In the past, people used to think that there was only one name in printers. Today, electronic stores carry more than a dozen types of wireless printers or colour laser printers. A lot of marketers tend to give up way too soon with differentiation. Today?s rapidly shifting marketplace demands a more creative approach. So hang in there and be persistent with your branding efforts.

5. Fully engage with social media

You will not only look modern, savvy, and trendy, but it also improves connectivity and attracts more traffic to your site. You don?t need to use an expensive advertising agency nor create a viral marketing video to improve traffic. You need elbow grease, several tricks on your sleeves, and a commitment in making your website a top destination for users. Add social share buttons, run a weekly blog, use search engine optimization, and build your website with links.

6. Showcase premier work

With today?s highly competitive marketplace, a strong brand is really all about relationships and trust. And with this vision in mind, there is no better method to build a brand than by publishing any of your pages as a visual element. Mention recognitions and awards your company has achieved, as well as green initiatives, interesting facts, and community service work.

Joanna Stevenson

Joanna Stevenson studied mechanical engineering in London and currently works for an energy research and consulting firm. She enjoys writing tech and business articles in her free time. She aspires to be an intrepid tech and gaming enthusiast with the exploratory spirit and witty prose of her favourite author of Robert Louis Stevenson.

Joanna Stevenson studied mechanical engineering in London and currently works for an energy research and consulting firm. She enjoys writing tech and business articles in her free time. She aspires to be an intrepid tech and gaming enthusiast with the exploratory spirit and witty prose of her favourite author of Robert Louis Stevenson. ...less info

Source: http://www.businesscomputingworld.co.uk/6-new-rules-for-online-business-branding/

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Source: http://vanquish-photoengraving.blogspot.com/2012/07/6-new-rules-for-online-business.html

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UK Information Commissioner Slams Google For Failure To Provide Street View Data

Google has been in ongoing discussions (some might say a war of words) with The UK's Information Commissioner. If you remember, Google's street cars captured all sorts of information other than just pictures, like WiFi nodes and even IP traffic, when they drove around. Google is fighting multiple cases across Europe with various public bodies about this. Today Google confirmed that it had located additional payload data collected by its Street View cars prior to May 2010 and the ICO, which has repeatedly asked Google to delete the extra data, has thrown a few choice words in Google's direction.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/kNcDOj7plBs/

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Gender Composition of Boards Important for ... - Business Ethics

by Beth Brooke
Global Vice Chair of Public Policy, Ernst & Young

Corporate America often says we are facing a pipeline problem when challenged with the troubling reality that women occupy only 16 percent of?Fortune 500?board seats. Yet to bump the percentage of U.S. board seats filled by women up by one percentage point, it would only take about 50 women joining the boards of these companies. There is no doubt there are far more than 50 qualified women interested in U.S. board seats right now.

Despite a professed desire by many U.S. companies for greater diversity and female representation, there has been virtually no improvement in recent years in the senior ranks. In the meantime, on goes the brain drain ? as senior women are now being competitively recruited to serve on the boards of non-U.S.-based companies.

The situation is urgent. U.S.-headquartered companies are failing to meet the career needs of half their available highly skilled labor and falling behind international competitors that are taking aggressive action to increase the number of women on their boards. That is the central finding of a new report,?Fulfilling the Promise: How More Women on Corporate Boards Would Make America and American Companies More Competitive, from the business-led Committee for Economic Development (CED).

Corporate leaders must actively commit to make advancement decisions that take advantage of the power of diverse views from leaders who don?t think, act or look like themselves. That will require diligently breaking old habits of selection that still favor those similar to existing leadership at the top. Nominating committees need to re-examine the narrow selection criteria that often exclude those who have not served in a CEO role. For example, it has been reported that of the 78 women currently serving as CFOs of?Fortune 1000?companies, 53 are not currently serving on any outside board. This is a uniquely qualified group.?The CEOs of these companies can take a critical step forward by advocating for their female CFOs to serve on outside boards.

Fulfilling the Promise?highlights the key realities facing the market for women in top corporate roles and makes two critical recommendations:

Key Realities:

??Gender Composition of Corporate Boards is Important for Global Competiveness.?Women constitute a substantial portion of highly talented labor ? women have caught up to and surpassed men in attaining bachelor?s and master?s degrees, yet top corporate leadership does not reflect that fact.

? Existing Efforts Do Not Yield Enough Progress.?Current efforts are not working ? the percentage of women on all U.S. corporate boards has been stuck well below 13 percent for a decade.

? Supply Challenges.?Board nominating committees often say that the small number of women on boards is due to the small number of perceived qualified candidates. The CED report casts doubt on that viewpoint. Companies must examine how to get more qualified candidates in the pipeline.

? Nominating Committees Do Not Do Enough To Demand Women Candidates.?While researchers have not found overt bias in the board nomination process, the system currently appears tilted toward maintaining boards in the male-dominated form familiar to the business world.

? Supply and Demand Problems Will Not Fix Themselves: Active Solutions Are Needed.?An aggressive effort is needed by all U.S. companies to improve female representation on corporate boards. The status quo is not acceptable.

Recommendations:

1. Meet the Competitive Challenge.?As their colleagues in Australia, the U.K. and elsewhere have done, CED members challenge leaders of U.S. companies to examine their practices against the best in class; they should ask what they are doing to advance women within their own companies and onto the boards of others, and they should be transparent in setting targets and measuring results.

2. Advocate for Talented Women.?Companies must employ all possible solutions to raise the number of women on corporate boards. That includes: setting goals; targeting talented women for promotion; publicly reporting targets and recruitment efforts voluntarily; providing active sponsorship programs for women; and employing executive search firms to increase the pool of women corporate board candidates.

Conclusion

America?s business leaders should understand that they need to use all available talent to succeed in today?s competitive global markets, and such talent increasingly will come from women. America?s adaptability and cultural diversity have historically been sources of significant strength in its economic development. Compared to many other countries, particularly in Europe and Asia, the United States has gained from its ability to integrate culturally diverse groups into positions where they could contribute significantly to economic growth and development. Women, too, have been integrated into the workforce in unprecedented numbers. Despite these gains, the potential is much greater. The United States is not yet a global leader in creating opportunities for women ? it has ample room for improvement.

Beth Brooke is Global Vice Chair of Public Policy at Ernst & Young, where she is?responsible for shaping the firm?s positions on public policy. She engages with regulators, policy makers, business leaders, investors and other key stakeholders around the world to address the critical issues facing the profession and global capital markets.?She is also Ernst & Young?s global sponsor of Diversity and Inclusiveness efforts and a prominent advocate in the world for the benefits of inclusive leadership and inclusive growth.

This article was first published on the?Harvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance and Financial Regulation?and is re-published with the author's permission.

Related Posts:

Tagged as: Board of Directors, Committee for Economic Development, Diversity, Ernst & Young, Gender Diversity, Governance, Women

Source: http://business-ethics.com/2012/07/27/1011-gender-composition-of-boards-important-for-competitiveness/

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Tanzania: &#39;New Constitution should affirm Agriculture is the National ...

The villagers from Nkwenda ward-Kyerwa district in Kagera region have suggested that the New Tanzania Constitution should declare that the agricultural sector is the backbone of the nation.

Nkwenda ward villagers-Kagera Region participating the New Constitution Opinions gathering meeting held recently in their ward.

The Nkwenda inhabitants said that when they were giving out their opinions recently on the ongoing New Constitution meetings which collect people?s views.

?I want our agricultural activities to be recognized by the new constitution. The Constitution should openly say that this is the backbone of Tanzania.? said one of the villagers.

Another villager went further by blaming the government that it does not act responsibly to agricultural sector because has not been totally recommended by the constitution hence the new constitution should recommend that.

?The Ministers do not help agriculture because no one to blame them. This constitution should force them by saying agriculture is the national backbone and should be given the first priority.? Another old woman said.

Do you have a story or an article to publish? Please email us to submit@in2eastafrica.net.

Source: http://in2eastafrica.net/tanzania-new-constitution-should-affirm-agriculture-is-the-national-backbone/

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Warm Zucchini "Pasta" Salad - Eat - Drink - Garden with Valerie

By Valerie, July 26, 2012. Photos by Valerie

It?s that time of year when I have so much zucchini I just don?t know what to do with it all. If your garden is in a similar giving mood try this veggie-loaded pasta salad.

My beloved Zucchini Noodle Maker & Veggie Slicer turns too much squash into bikini-friendly comfort food. This dish is a warm, satisfying lunch, and super healthy too. It gives the satisfaction of a hearty bowl of pasta without the carbs.

Warm Zucchini ?Pasta? Salad
Yield: 2 servings

3 zucchinis, made into noodles
Salt and freshly ground pepper
2 Tablespoons Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 Tomato, diced
1 large clove of garlic, minced
1 hot pepper (packed in oil), minced
5-7 Kalamata olives, pitted and sliced into halves
4-6 basil leaves, torn
Crumbled feta (to your taste)

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To make the zucchini noodles, you can read my instructions from my recipe for Zucchini Pasta with Fresh Tomato Sauce. Or you could just take a look at the photos below and do what seems natural. It?s really quite simple.

Toss the zucchini noodles in a bowl with a little salt and freshly ground pepper, then let them sit for 15 minutes.

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Drain the noodles (some water might accumulate at the bottom of the bowl), spread them out on a cookie sheet, sprinkle them with a little more salt and freshly ground pepper, and broil them for 3-5 minutes, around 6? from the heat. Don?t worry, this won?t brown the zucchini noodles, but rather warm them up for serving.

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While the zucchini is in the oven, heat the olive oil over medium heat in a medium-size skillet, then add the tomato, garlic, pepper, and olives and saut? for 1-2 minutes or until warm.

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Combine the tomato and garlic mixture with the warmed zucchini noodles, place on two salad plates, and top each with the basil and crumbled feta. Serve and enjoy!

Source: http://eat-drink-garden.com/2012/07/warm-zucchini-pasta-salad/

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Science & the Public: So long Weekly Reader . . .

So long Weekly Reader . . .

That magazine?s demise does not signal an end to kids? need for reliable news ? especially about science

Web edition : 12:12 am

I read with sadness this week that Weekly Reader is about to disappear.

Earlier this year, Scholastic Classroom Magazines purchased the publication, one that had been an iconic source of news (throughout my elementary-school years, anyway). The buyer already had 28 subject-specific publications. It will now begin ?combining the features of Weekly Reader into the Scholastic classroom magazines,? says Cathy Lasiewicz, with Scholastic in New York City. ?There will be some co-branding,? she told me, meaning vestiges of the old publication?s name may be appended to the occasional Scholastic title.

When I was growing up, Weekly Reader was a household name, a fixture in classrooms across America. Even among many adults, it had substantially higher visibility than Science News.

It's something I learned early in my career. Time and again as I introduced myself, people would ask: ?Science News: Isn?t that the Weekly Reader of science??

It was a recurrent frustratration?that so many people seemed to assume the brief format of our stories meant we were writing for the grade-school set. In fact, we labored hard each week to concisely sate the curiosity of astute (and often quite science-literate) adults.

I'm happy to say it's now been quite a long while since anyone has confused us for a kids? publication. But that's not to say kids don't need good science journalism, particularly throughout that middle school window when a fascination with science and tech so often threatens to flag. The result: In early 2003 we launched Science News for Kids.

It took a while for SNK to find its niche. Today this online magazine reaches more than 1.5 million people annually. During peak periods, the site serves more than 15,000 people a day.

Free of charge ? and free of advertising ??SNK now posts between 2 and 6 news and feature stories some 50 weeks a year. Each is archived for retrieval at any time from anywhere (our readers have been logging in from 200-plus countries and territories).

Most of our offerings target students in middle school, although we hear there is a significant spillover into younger and older age groups. SNK?s feature stories often introduce serious and cutting edge topics, everything from dark matter and epigenetics to fracking and electronic tattoos. We know that some appeal largely because they're?just fun or quirky, like the science of mummies; investigations of the world's elusive,?legless amphibians; and how scientists are attempting to?create meat in the test-tube.

Although targeted for kids, these stories are not superficial.?We just make new developments ? and the controversies that may surround them ? accessible to kids who may arrive at our site with a limited vocabulary or knowledge base.

SNK?s far shorter news stories tend to digest new developments that were recently covered in Science News. Increasingly, however, even these stories may be original to the kids? site. Among several that have proven popular: why dog?s paws don?t get frostbite, how the sun can power self-cleaning clothes and a new way to harvest energy from temperature changes.

A Cool Jobs series debuted this year. Each of the dozen stories that has begun rolling out profiles a trio of researchers that have something in common. It may be their research discipline (like robotics or math), where they conduct research (in the field) or what served as their initial motivation (something they?ve loved since childhood). The series? goal is to broaden kids? horizons on the many interesting ? and perhaps unexpected ? careers that depend on science, technology, engineering and mathematics (the STEM fields). We don?t expect kids to necessarily be looking to answer that perennial what do you want to do when you grow up question. And that?s why we?ve designed each of these pieces to sell itself on the basis of the interesting work that the profiled researchers do.

Over the past year, the site has also begun developing stories for educators and others.

The first batch described how parents and mentors can help kids begin the research that could lead to science competitions, including those created and administered by our parent organization, Society for Science & the Public. Adults may also appreciate a thought-provoking pair of stories?looking at the role of?creativity in science and the idea that the scientific method ? as the way that good science is conducted ? may actually constitute a myth.

Teachers have told us that they like our stories as a supplement to their required curricula (see a smattering of comments). To help others figure out how to use news, we posted a feature today in which teachers share their experiences introducing current events in the classroom, pointing to what works and what doesn?t. Among those sources that have proved useful: stories from Science News and Science News for Kids.

If you haven?t seen us, check out our site. If you are among the many returning visitors, thanks for appreciating the news that my dedicated team of writers and editors brings to kids from 9 to 99.?And if you?re a teacher or?other regular reader of Science News for Kids, please feel free to weigh in on what you like, what you don?t and what additional features or content you?d most appreciate seeing.???????????

Found in: Science & Society and Science News For Kids

Source: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/342549/title/So_long_Weekly_Reader_._._._

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A further step towards preventing diabetes

Public release date: 26-Jul-2012
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Contact: Paolo Meda
paolo.meda@unige.ch
0041-793-532-215
Universit de Genve

Research workers at the UNIGE have developed a novel method of identifying molecules that could help to prevent diabetes

Pancreatic beta cells produce insulin, responsible for controlling blood sugar levels and thus essential for our survival. Among the numerous factors that affect the workings of these cells, a protein called Cx36 was identified a few months ago by a research team at the UNIGE. The scientists there had demonstrated that in transgenic mice, suitably modified so as not to produce any Cx36, synchronization of the beta cells ceased and insulin production went out of control. This de-synchronization of insulin secretion is the first measurable sign in people suspected of developing type 2 diabetes. Armed with this knowledge, the research team have set about finding molecules which act directly on Cx36 with the objective of developing a novel therapeutic approach to fighting diabetes.

Paolo Meda, Professor of Cellular Physiology and Metabolism in the University of Geneva's Faculty of Medicine, has set his team a real challenge - study the protein Cx36, present in minute quantities and almost impossible to detect using traditional techniques, and which has a half-life of around three hours!

Over one thousand drugs tested

Sabine Bavamian and Helena Pontes, researchers in Professor Meda's laboratory, set to work on developing a non-invasive system for understanding how Cx36 works. This project has been partly financed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (USA) and the Swiss National Science Foundation and is using equipment in the Bio-Imaging department of UNIGE's Faculty of Medicine. The two scientists have been able to develop a new model using living cells which produce insulin and Cx36 in culture in order to be able rapidly to test a large number of potentially interesting molecules. With this novel approach, they have been able to analyse some 1040 molecules, enabling them to identify those that stimulate insulin production and those that inhibit it. Such discoveries should enable the roll out of new pharmacological treatment strategies for type 2 diabetes.

And what if animal venoms are not poisons after all?

Although there is now a large number of drugs that are prescribed for diabetics the world over to help alleviate insulin secretion de-synchronization, the majority of them have unfortunate side effects. And thus Professor Meda has decided to use the innovative technique developed by his team to test the effect on Cx36 of very different molecules, produced from animal venom. Such molecules should not give rise to the same type of problem posed by the traditional drugs used currently. The screening, or selection, of the venom should enable carrying out the necessary validation tests, initially in vitro, and then in vivo. We have some 3 to 5 years work ahead of us, but we have very serious hopes of discovering molecules which act exclusively on Cx36, unlike all the currently identified molecules, with a view to limiting side-effects, explains Professor Meda. In the fight against diabetes, scientists are exploring numerous avenues, some of which are rather surprising.

###

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AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Public release date: 26-Jul-2012
[ | E-mail | Share ]

Contact: Paolo Meda
paolo.meda@unige.ch
0041-793-532-215
Universit de Genve

Research workers at the UNIGE have developed a novel method of identifying molecules that could help to prevent diabetes

Pancreatic beta cells produce insulin, responsible for controlling blood sugar levels and thus essential for our survival. Among the numerous factors that affect the workings of these cells, a protein called Cx36 was identified a few months ago by a research team at the UNIGE. The scientists there had demonstrated that in transgenic mice, suitably modified so as not to produce any Cx36, synchronization of the beta cells ceased and insulin production went out of control. This de-synchronization of insulin secretion is the first measurable sign in people suspected of developing type 2 diabetes. Armed with this knowledge, the research team have set about finding molecules which act directly on Cx36 with the objective of developing a novel therapeutic approach to fighting diabetes.

Paolo Meda, Professor of Cellular Physiology and Metabolism in the University of Geneva's Faculty of Medicine, has set his team a real challenge - study the protein Cx36, present in minute quantities and almost impossible to detect using traditional techniques, and which has a half-life of around three hours!

Over one thousand drugs tested

Sabine Bavamian and Helena Pontes, researchers in Professor Meda's laboratory, set to work on developing a non-invasive system for understanding how Cx36 works. This project has been partly financed by the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (USA) and the Swiss National Science Foundation and is using equipment in the Bio-Imaging department of UNIGE's Faculty of Medicine. The two scientists have been able to develop a new model using living cells which produce insulin and Cx36 in culture in order to be able rapidly to test a large number of potentially interesting molecules. With this novel approach, they have been able to analyse some 1040 molecules, enabling them to identify those that stimulate insulin production and those that inhibit it. Such discoveries should enable the roll out of new pharmacological treatment strategies for type 2 diabetes.

And what if animal venoms are not poisons after all?

Although there is now a large number of drugs that are prescribed for diabetics the world over to help alleviate insulin secretion de-synchronization, the majority of them have unfortunate side effects. And thus Professor Meda has decided to use the innovative technique developed by his team to test the effect on Cx36 of very different molecules, produced from animal venom. Such molecules should not give rise to the same type of problem posed by the traditional drugs used currently. The screening, or selection, of the venom should enable carrying out the necessary validation tests, initially in vitro, and then in vivo. We have some 3 to 5 years work ahead of us, but we have very serious hopes of discovering molecules which act exclusively on Cx36, unlike all the currently identified molecules, with a view to limiting side-effects, explains Professor Meda. In the fight against diabetes, scientists are exploring numerous avenues, some of which are rather surprising.

###

---

[ | E-mail | Share ]

?

AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.

Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2012-07/udg-afs072612.php

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Match Making For Boomers: Dating Tips for Men Who Have No Clue ...

It is true that men are, more often than not, clueless when it comes to dating. So, here are some dating tips for men who have no clue. This list includes some dos and don'ts to making a perfect first date.

First, it is actually okay to suggest a drink instead of dinner for that perfect first date. With the rise of the cafes and similar establishments, it will be quite easy to ask your date to go out and grab a cup of coffee or something. Believe it or not, not all women look forward to a boring four-course meal. In fact, going on a drink will help break the ice. This way, you will be able to get to know each other without the awkwardness a dinner date brings most people.

Second, take note that weekends are not meant for first dates. A first date should keep you wanting more, therefore, do it on a weekday. This way, you will have a reason to end your date early. And since weekends are not meant for dates, don't try to call her up on a weekend either. If you have a date set for Monday evening, check up on her in the morning.

Third, make sure to leave her you home number. Not doing so will only lead her to believe that you probably already have a wife and kid at home.

Fourth, if you really want to surprise her with something special, at least give her a clue on what to wear. You wouldn't want her to buy a new dress if you plan to take her on a hike nor skiing, now, would you?

Fifth, location is the key. Never choose a location that is conveniently close to you. That would only show that since you wouldn't even go the distance in picking location, maybe you would be just like that when it comes to relationships.

Sixth, always compliment your date! Just because you know you are with a beautiful woman, doesn't mean she knows how pretty she looks. She put in so much effort into looking like that, so put in an effort to tell her just that.

Seventh, women are very sensitive. So, try to watch her signals too! Generally is she touches your arm then she's interested. Once she touches your leg, then I guess you already know what that means.

Lastly, when in doubt, don't let your cluelessness win. Just hold her hand. These are just basic dating tips for men who don't know better. Just keep these in mind and you'll soon be a pro.

For more men dating tips, check out articles on how to pick up women online and find out how far conversational chemistry can take you. Providing quality reviews, articles and writings on dating online.

Source: http://matchmakingforbloomers.blogspot.com/2012/07/dating-tips-for-men-who-have-no-clue.html

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Stocks fall sharply as traders focus on Spain

Brendan Mcdermid / REUTERS

Traders work on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange Tuesday.

By NBC News and wires

Updated at 4:05 p.m. ET: Stocks fell sharply Tuesday, as high bond yields in Spain remained an overhang and a round of disappointing profit outlooks highlighted the effect of the euro zone debt crisis on corporate profits.

The Dow Jones industrial average closed the day down 104 points, off earlier lows and marking its second down day after losing 101 points on Monday amid concerns about the ongoing debt crisis in Europe.

Stocks pared their losses in the final 10 minutes of trading following a report on the The Wall Street Journal's website that said the Federal Reserve is moving closer to taking action to stimulate the economy.

In earnings news, United Parcel Service, seen by many as a proxy for economic activity, reported quarterly results that missed forecasts and cut its 2012 outlook, citing uncertain global economic conditions.

?You look at UPS and FedEx and you think ?they are sort of the temperature takers of what is going on and if they are tanking why should I step in front of that moving train,?? said Cummins Catherwood, managing director, Boenning and Scattergood in West Conshohocken, Pennsylvania.

?The bigger part to me is when (companies) get through reporting whatever the earnings were they are also saying they don't like what is out there - we are looking down a murky road and it doesn't look cool.?

Whirlpool slumped after the world's largest appliance maker missed Wall Street's expectations for quarterly earnings and sales, hurt by weak demand in Europe and a stronger dollar.

Related: Spain teeters on the edge of a steep 'fiscal cliff'

According to Thomson Reuters data, of the 145 companies in the S&P 500 that have reported earnings to date for the second quarter, 66.9 percent have reported earnings above analyst expectations. Over the past four quarters, 68 percent of companies beat estimates.

Concerns about the euro zone focused on Spain's high borrowing costs due to fears the country may seek a bailout, a survey showing Germany's private sector shrank for a third straight month, and Moody's move to cut Germany's rating outlook to negative.

Indicating the economic malaise from Europe is affecting multiple sectors, Texas Instruments Inc's second-quarter profit beat Wall Street expectations but the company warned that its third-quarter revenue would be weaker than usual as customers are cautious due to global economic uncertainties.

Spanish five-year government bond yields rose above 10-year yields for the first time since June 2001 on Tuesday, as investors fretted about the possibility that Madrid may need a full-blown sovereign bailout.

An even gloomier picture for the overall euro zone's private sector, which shrank for a sixth month in July as manufacturing output nosedived, added to the likelihood that the bloc will slump back into recession.

Reuters contributed to this report.

So how can investors protect themselves from volatility in the shadow of fiscal cliff fears and Europe concerns? Paul Auslander, Financial Planning Association, and John Lekas, Leader Capital, discuss.

Source: http://marketday.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/24/12930574-stocks-fall-sharply-as-traders-focus-on-spain?lite

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US adds $150 million to fight AIDS, targets stigma

WASHINGTON (AP) ? The U.S. is adding an extra $150 million to the global AIDS fight, taking a first step toward reaching some stigmatized populations.

Despite tough fiscal times, "I am here today to make it absolutely clear the U.S. is committed and will remain committed to achieving an AIDS-free generation," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton told the International AIDS Conference on Monday.

That's a big goal: Some 34.2 million people worldwide are living with HIV, the virus that causes AIDS, and 2.5 million were infected last year. But the world's largest AIDS meeting this week is debating how to spread scientific advances in ways to stem spread of the virus to get there.

Key is targeting those tools where they can have the greatest effect. "We need to go where the virus is," Clinton told the meeting.

That means a focus on populations at especially high risk: gay and bisexual men, sex workers and injecting drug users. In many countries, stigma and laws that make their activities illegal drive those populations away from AIDS programs that could teach them to reduce their risk of infection, Clinton said.

"If we're going to beat AIDS, we can't afford to avoid sensitive conversations," she said.

Removing stigma is crucial, singer Elton John told the conference.

"We have to replace the shame with love," the British artist said. "We have to replace the stigma with compassion. No one should be left behind."

Included in the new U.S. funding is $15 million for research to identify the best HIV prevention tools to reach those key populations in different countries, and $20 million to create a challenge fund to support country-led efforts to put those findings into practice.

Closer to reality is a goal of virtually eliminating transmission of HIV from infected pregnant women to their babies by 2015, by getting the mothers onto anti-AIDS drugs. HIV-infected births are rare in the United States and are dropping steadily worldwide, although some 330,000 children became infected last year. Clinton said the U.S. has invested more than $1 billion toward that goal in recent years and is providing an extra $80 million to help poor countries finish the job.

Much of the AIDS conference is focused on how to get treatment to all people with HIV, because good treatment saves their lives and reduces their chances of infecting others.

But drugs aren't the only effective protection. Dr. Anthony Fauci of the National Institutes of Health said male circumcision is "stunningly successful" too at protecting men from becoming infected by a heterosexual partner. Clinton said the U.S. will provide $40 million to help South Africa reach its goal of providing voluntary circumcision to half a million boys and men this year.

The world spent $16.8 billion fighting AIDS in poor countries, the hardest-hit, last year, and the United States is the leading donor.

But Bill Gates, the Microsoft founder and philanthropist, said the world is facing great uncertainty about whether wealthy nations will continue funding AIDS programs with the same vigor as in the past.

"As these budget trade-offs are made, the voices of the AIDS community and the global health community are going to have to be louder than ever," said Gates, whose Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has pledged more than $1 billion to global AIDS efforts.

Another $7 billion a year is needed to get 15 million people in low- and middle-income countries onto medication by 2015, a United Nations goal. A record 8 million received it last year.

"We have to be innovative," said Sheila Tlou, the former health minister of Botswana, now with UNAIDS. "We have to look at new ways of funding."

Speaking to the conference via video, French President Francois Hollande said his country was doing that by beginning what's called a financial transaction tax next month. The tax idea has received a lukewarm reception in other parts of Europe and the U.S.

And researchers from Zimbabwe described how individuals and companies in that country pay 3 percent of taxable income into a National AIDS Trust Fund that has grown large enough to fund anti-AIDS medicines for a quarter of patients using them.

___

Associated Press writer Joshua Lederman contributed to this report.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/us-adds-150-million-fight-aids-targets-stigma-064825472.html

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TechnologY for Learning: Avast Internet security -2012 with premium ...

Avast is one of the most popular antivirus application that is used by over 150 million happy users
avast! Internet Security provides complete antivirus,anti-spyware,anti-spam, and firewall?protection, complemented by avast safezone?and new hybrid cloud technologies, for best protection against viruses,spyware,and other types of malware?in 2012.The program's new interface is clean and simple. Your system status is just a click away, and the real-time protection to gives you.Avast! 7 introduces new cloud-based services, too. Reputation Services connect to the cloud to establish the safety of websites and individual files, while new streaming updates help you stay more quickly protected against the latest threats.










Avast Internet Security 7 includes quite a few interesting new features:
? Fixed memory leak in aswMon2 driver
? Fixed problem with random opening of the Safe Zone
? Fixed SSL connection issues with SMTP
? Fixed blocking of Internet access
? Fixed missing "Additional protection" tab
? Fixed crashes in Outlook
? Bangla,hindi,marathi and more than 20 language are added


now i give a??premium ?license key of?Avast Internet security-7?
At first ?download the trial version of avast?Internet security-7 from?download avast?&?license key from?download license

Now start :

01:Double click on the set up file when installation begins, you will be given 3 options on the mode of installing : a) Express Install b) Compatible Install c) Custom Install. choose ?Express Install?

02: You can also enter an activation key by choosing the option ?Supply an activation code? .

03:The?installation will now begin and would take a few minutes to complete. So please be patient and have a sip of coffee.

04:Soon after installation is complete, avast Internet Security 7 starts to scan your computer for any viruses or malwares that would eventually exist.

05:While scanning, avast Internet Security 7 takes action on viruses and worms. After that, you will be asked to restart your computer. So click on ?Finish? .

06:After the restart, open avast Internet Security 7 and update the virus signature database.

Lets enjoy to new avast??Internet security-7 with new look and many more new feature.Take care every times.To face any problem in??installing or using comment here any time.?

Source: http://technologybdtoday.blogspot.com/2012/07/avast-internet-security-2012-with.html

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Short Arctic night a challenge for fasting Muslims

ROVANIEMI, Finland (AP) ? How do you observe dawn-to-dusk fasting when there is neither dawn nor dusk?

It's a question facing a small but growing number of Muslims celebrating the holy month of Ramadan on the northern tip of Europe, where the the sun barely dips below the horizon at this time of year.

In Rovaniemi, a northern Finland town that straddles the Arctic Circle at 66 degrees north, the sun rises around 3:20 a.m. and sets about 11:20pm. That means Muslims who observe Ramadan could be required to go without food or drink for 20 hours.

In a few years, Ramadan will begin even closer to the summer solstice in late June, when the sun doesn't set at all.

"We have to use common sense," said Mahmoud Said, 27, who came to Finnish Lapland from Kenya three years ago.

To Said, that means following the fasting hours of the nearest Muslim country: Turkey.

"It involves 14 or 15 hours of fasting which is okay, it's not bad," said Said, who works for a non-governmental organization helping immigrants settle in the area. He estimates there are a little over 100 Muslims in Rovaniemi, mainly from Iraq, Somalia and Afghanistan.

There is no unanimity on how to deal with the issue, which is becoming more pressing as more Muslim immigrants find their way to sparsely inhabited areas near the Arctic.

In Alaska, the Islamic Community Center of Anchorage, "after consultation with scholars," advises Muslims to follow the fasting hours of Mecca, Islam's holiest city.

The Dublin-based European Council for Fatwa and Research, however, said Muslims need to follow the local sunrise and sunset, even up north.

"The debate on how to do this in the north has been on going on for a few years," said Omar Mustafa, the chairman of the Islamic Association of Sweden. "We fast according to the sun. As long as it is possible to tell dusk from dawn. This applies to 90 percent of Sweden's Muslims."

The few Muslims who live so far north that they are awash in 24-hour daylight should follow the daylight hours the closest city in Sweden where you can tell dawn from dusk, he said, noting that it's permitted to break the fast for health reasons.

Kaltouma Abakar and her extended family of nine relatives came to Finland from Sudan's Darfur region four years ago. She opts to observe the local Lapland sunrise and sunset times before breaking the fast in her downtown Rovaniemi apartment.

Kaltouma explains that she gets up early and works until the afternoon, then starts cooking the family's iftar meal around 5 p.m.

"The time of Ramadan fasting is very long, and breaking the fast can be around 11:30 in the evening. The time you're supposed to eat your breakfast is 2 o'clock in the morning," the 31-year old said.

In the kitchen, Kaltouma's two daughters ? aged 11 and 6 ? help prepare the food. They fry chicken and pastries filled with tuna in scalding hot oil. A pot of rice simmers on the stove while one girl kneads cornmeal dough which they'll dip into a chicken broth and eat with their fingers ? traditional Sudanese style ? a few hours later.

Apart from the late sunset times, Kaltouma said the lack of "Muslim food" locally in Rovaniemi can be a challenge. She sometimes has to wait several days for halal meat and other traditional ingredients to come from the larger cities of Oulu, or Helsinki in the south.

Even though, technically, there is nightfall in Rovaniemi at this time of year, there is no true darkness. Instead, there'sdn a grey gloaming with occasional dappled rays of sun reaching over the northern horizon, giving the city a mystical quality even in the supposed dead of night.

The dates of Ramadan change according to the lunar calendar, moving back 11 days each year. That means that by 2015 there will be no sunset for a month when Ramadan falls closer to midsummer.

Still, Kaltouma says "there is going to be at least 10 minutes for us to break the fast."

She said there is one positive aspect of observing long fasting hours in the Arctic during Ramadan: the cool temperatures.

"Unlike Africa, here in Finland you don't get thirsty often. No matter how long you fast, you don't get the urge for water."

___

Associated Press writer Karl Ritter in Stockholm contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2012-07-24-Finland-Arctic%20Ramadan/id-8c2cb6cc41af463f972ffe71fd85f4ea

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Video: NCAA hands Penn State severe punishments

Sorry, Readability was unable to parse this page for content.

Source: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/48285120#48285120

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This Week&#39;s Awesome New Yorker Cover - Business Insider

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United, Continental flight attendants swap scarves

Courtesy "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties"

One flight attendant's grassroots idea has turned into a symbol of unity for United and Continental.

By Harriet Baskas, NBC News contributor

A small gesture is getting big raves from flight attendants who now work for the company created by the merger of United and Continental Airlines but who continue to fly separately?in their traditional United or Continental uniforms?while union and contract issues are worked out.

Flight attendants who came from the old Continental Airlines recently ratified a new contract, which means attendants can now negotiate a joint contract to cover the combined group of about 24,000 flight attendants ? including about 9,000 U.S. flight attendants who came from Continental.

?We have to two diverse cultures with completely different work rules, wants and needs,? said Sara Keagle, a Continental flight attendant who blogs as the Flying Pinto.

---

The two teams will eventually be blended and issued new matching uniforms. But as a symbol of friendship and bridge-building, flight attendants from each airline have been swapping their regulation neckwear for the scarves and ties worn by the other team.

The informal program was started by Kathe Hull, a United flight attendant who was reading through messages on a flight attendant Facebook page on June 29th. ?It?s sort of been like the first day of school; we?ve all been eyeing each other, wondering if we were going to be friends. I was checking in on the page and I thought that instead of just posting a comment here and there I would make a gesture to my peers at my sister airline,? Hull told NBC News. She asked if a Continental flight attendant would be willing to trade scarves. ?I wanted it to foster a friendship beyond Facebook,? said Hull, who has been a flight attendant for United since Valentine?s Day 1991.

Hull kicked off the program by putting two of her United scarves in a small plastic bag with her name, base city and a note to a potential ?scarf-sister? from Continental. She left the bag in a swap box she set up in the Newark domicile, one of the briefing rooms where flight attendants check-in before their flights.

Courtesy "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties"

United flight attendant Kathe Hull kicked off the informal program by fostering a friendship with the other attendants beyond Facebook.

?I have no idea who got my scarves,? said Hull. But she does know that the idea has spread like wildfire.

With the help of an enthusiastic ?scarf squad,? swap boxes with plastic bags of scarves, ties and some wings have been set up in domiciles all over the United States. And through a new Facebook page?set up for what has been now been dubbed ?The Sisterhood and Brotherhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties,? Hull has learned that swap boxes have been set up at the airline?s bases in Guam, Narita, Japan and Frankfurt, Germany.

?It?s like pen pals meet The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants,? said Hull, referring to the popular young adult books and movies about a group of friends who must be apart but stay in touch by sharing a magical pair of blue jeans.

?It?s an uncertain time. Bases are opening and closing. People are shifting around,? said Hull. ?This is a good way to begin feeling like a family.?

The uniforms worn by both United and Continental flight attendants are navy blue, but passengers who look closely should be able to spot the swappers, who have cleared the non-regulation accessories with United management.

Courtesy "The Sisterhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties"

The new swap program has been dubbed, "The Sisterhood and Brotherhood of the Traveling Scarves and Ties," and has been set up at the airline's bases in Guam, Narita, Japan and Frankfurt, Germany.

?Hull?s idea is about camaraderie and the bonding as one team,? said Sam Risoli, United Airlines senior vice president of inflight services. ?It a terrific idea that?s simple, personal and very genuine.?A perfect example of being positive and doing the right things.?

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Find more by Harriet Baskas on StuckatTheAirport.com and follow her on Twitter.

More stories you might like:

Source: http://overheadbin.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/07/23/12726504-united-continental-flight-attendants-swap-scarves-ties-for-friendship?lite

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